1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a free sliding hand rest, and more particularly to a free sliding hand rest for use as a typing assist device.
2. Description of Related Art
It is well known that prolonged use of a typewriter or other similar keyboard causes great fatigue to an operator, particularly to the arms and back thereof since the arms are held unsupported while subject to motion. The need to provide hand and arm support for keyboard operators has been known. However, an effective support device which supports without inhibiting motion, is unconfining, and enables equal or greater typing speed than without such an assist device has not previously been achieved.
For example, it has been known to physically suspend the forearms from an overhanging frame or support with arm rests suspended from the support in front of the keyboard such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 360,529 to Jurey issued on Apr. 5, 1887. More recently, fixed arm or wrists supports have been provided in front of a keyboard, the fixed supports most often supporting both the arm, the keyboard and/or the computer terminal all at the same time. These devices do not support alacrity of movement required to reach all locations on the keyboard and in fact still exact a substantial toll on the hands and the arms and body for frequent lifting and placing about a keyboard.
Typing strain may be due to the tense and inaccurate position of the operator's hand. This strain eventually manifests as fatigue or pains of the wrist, the forearm, the shoulder, the back, and the neck of the operator. Further, such strain is caused by the posture and hand position required for typing. In order to compensate for this strain, operators often develop improper posture which only aggravates their painful condition.
Recent attention has been given to the problem of repetitive strain injury (RSI) that journalists and computer operators encounter which leads to neck, wrist, hand and arm pain. With the advent of automation, more and more workers are spending their days in front of a computer and as of 1988 nearly half of all work place illnesses in private industry were the result of repetitive strain injury.
In particular, long hours at the computer or a keyboard put continuous stress on the wrists, elbows and shoulders. Tendons in the arm become inflamed, thereby squeezing nerves, resulting in numbness and pain. These injuries often develop into serious lifelong disabilities and loss of ability to continue the work which caused them.
Cumulative trauma disorders (CTD), known as the industrial disease of the information age include carpal tunnel syndrome, a severe form of CTD concentrated in the carpal bones of the hand and wrist which is known to be a direct result of the repetitive typing motion required of keyboard operators.
Even though knowledge of these disorders has increased and their source is understood, the industry has been slow to take preventative measures.